Nigeria: fuel shortages hit cement output

Shortages of oil and natural gas have caused cement producers in Nigeria to cut output, with some plants having to close temporarily, reports the Vanguard newspaper.

The declining availability of natural gas, low-pour fuel oil and (LPFO), automotive gas oil (AGO) has led to a reduction in cement manufacturing as firms struggle to find sufficient fuel to support normal operations.

Dangote, Nigeria’s largest producer, said that its fuel costs rose US$14.40/t in 2016 and that it was converting its plants to coal as a result. Other companies, such as the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, have shut down plants on occasions when fuel became too hard to obtain.

“The major issue is lack of gas supply because of the blowing up of oil and gas pipelines by militants in the Niger Delta region. We are now using a mixture of gas and black oil for our operations, which is highly costly, and also drops our production from 100 per cent to 75 percent at the Ewekoro plant. This has been going on since February 2016,” said Segun Shoyoye, a production manager with Lafarge Africa.